Brittney L. Blumengold, Juris Doctor Candidate, 2019 at St. Thomas University School of Law submitted the following essay as an entry to the Brandon Legal Group Legal Scholarship.   There was only one winner, and many entries, however this essay was deserving of an Honorable Mention.  Thank You Brittney.

For information on participating in Brandon Legal Group’s $1,000 Scholarship, click here.

Why is marriage important to our society? What are the benefits?

As Justice Warren stated, “Marriage is one of the ‘basic civil rights of man’, fundamental to our very existence and survival.” Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967). This is so because one of the basics of human needs is companionship. Society as a whole views a person that is married to be committed, hard working, and focused. Although these qualities are not necessarily “marital” qualities, the community’s perspective as a whole is that with the happiness in your home, comes the happiness you emulate to the community and the workplace. The purpose of marriage is to share in a partnership that is of confidence, dedicated to sharing the most intimate of details of one’s personal life with the person that is least likely to judge you for them. The original belief that marriage is between a man and a woman with the intent to procreate has long evolved into a showing that marriage is more important than just producing the next generation. The ability for a person to be able to confide their deepest emotions, entrust their most difficult obstacles, and share their greatest accomplishments are the essence of the existence of a person. Having someone to come home to reduces the chances of depression by helping increase the content feeling of being happy to see your partner.

The Fourteenth Amendment affords persons the protections from the intrusion of government into the marriage. The privacy associated with a marriage has evolved with social media norms, however, privacy afforded by a marriage remains to be a prevalent benefit which is protected under the Liberty Clause. Additionally, the government affords married couples certain benefits that are not afforded to non-married couples, such as making the financing for loans more accessible to married couples, than non-married couples. Parties that are married get to enjoy benefits such as family health insurance benefits, and long term medical decision-making power over the other spouse in the event that the person is not able to make such decisions on their own.

Marriage creates an economic stability in society as well. When there are two parties with income, the household is more likely to never go without a meal, clothing or even vacations. Overall, activities like vacations encourage happiness and a higher productivity level. Children that are the product of a marriage are also viewed with a higher regard than children that live in two separate households. This could be for conformity, or cohesiveness, but the child is less likely to suffer stressors that a child with either unmarried parents or children that are the product of divorce may have to endure.

Shared parental responsibility and shared decision making between Husband and Wife have a presumptive 50/50, whereas Paternity actions where the parties are not married require the showing that the other parent should have 50/50. Additional legal benefits include certain property rights, and next of kin rights that persons not connected by marriage cannot obtain. Moreover, the protections that are given in medical situations to a spouse far exceed those given to a boyfriend/girlfriend, and/or parents of adults. For married couples, there are specific remedies in the law that afford a partner the ability to sue for wrongful death, and/or the power to make decisions regarding that person’s estate.

Besides the benefits afforded to married couples by the government, marriage also brings the motivation to push the other person harder to accomplish goals that they may have thought to be unattainable. All of which could lead to a longer life, better members of society, superior productivity in the workplace, and which society will always be a proponent of when it comes to their loved ones.

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